Tape dispenser and folder



Aug. 11, 1959 Filed Sept. 17, 1957 A. P. KRUEGER TAPE DISPENSER AND FOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet i INYENTO R j/ 'lfrea P. Krue ge ATTORNEYS Aug. 11, 1959 A. P. KRUEGER TAPE DISPENSER AND FOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 17, 1957 INVENTOR v ATTORNEYS ire TAPE DISPENSER AND FOLDER Alfred P. Krueger, Southbury, Conn, assignor to Derby Sealers Incorporated, Ansonia, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application September 17, 1957, Serial No. 684,510

7 Claims. (Cl. 270-68) from a supply roll, and also customarily include a stripper roll for stripping the tape from the feed rollas-it is delivered to the user. Dispensers of thistype also usually include a fixed shear plate which may have a serrated edge against which the delivered tape may be severed to provide a strip of the desired length. The severed strip is usually tacky from one extremity to the other. However, sometimes it is advantageous to obtain from a dispenser a severed strip having a non-tacky end which will not adhere to the fingers or objects to which the tacky portion of the tape is applied. Such a strip when applied to an object provides a non-tacky end which may be readily grasped for easy removal of the strip from the object. A strip having a non-tacky end may be formed by doubling one end portion of a conventional tape on itself so that the tacky surfaces thereof are face to face and adhere to one another.

Accordingly, one object of the invention is to provide a tape dispenser from which a strip of tape may be obtained having a non-tacky end, provided by doubling one end portionof the tape on itself.

Another object is to provide in atape dispenser means, in conjunction with a strippingroll and a shear plate, for effecting a doubling of one end portion of the tape as the tape issues from the. dispenser.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved tape dispenser.

Further objects of the inventionwill be apparent from the following detailed description of several illustrative forms of the dispenser shown in the drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a tape dispenser embodying the invention, the casing of the dispenser being partly broken away to illustrate certain features of construction;

Fig. '2 is a front elevational view of the dispenser;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a step in the advancement of tape through the dispenser;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a further step in the advancement of the tape through the dispenser;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modified form of the dispenser; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view illustrating a further modification of the dispenser.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 through 5 of the drawings, the dispenser includes a casing, the greater part of which is provided by plate members 10 and 11. The plate members 10 and 11 are elongated horizontally and at least partly define therebetween a longitudinal chamber ES ate m ice 12. The casing may be suitably supported from a table or other supporting surface by feet 13. The plate members 10, 11 of the casing may be secured together by a screw 14.

A supply roll 15 of pressure-sensitive tape extending into the chamber 12 is suitably mounted for rotation and supported from the plate members 10, 11 1, the tape 16 being drawn from the roll, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and passing over a feed roll 17 to which the tacky side of the tape adheres so that by rotation of the feed roll the tape may be stripped from the supply roll. The feed roll 17 is fixed on a shaft 18 which is rotatably mounted in the plate members 10 and 11. Adjacent the roll 17 astripper roll '19 is rotatably mounted in the chamber 12, the last-mentioned roll being mounted by means of a shaft 20 rigid therewith and rotatably mounted inthe plate members 10 and 11. As shown in Fig. 2

by way of example only, the rolls 17 and 19 are formed by a series of disks which are axially spaced apart, the disks of one roll being in staggered relation to the disks of the other roll so that the rolls overlap in the manner indicated in Figs. 2 and'3. The circumferential surfaces of the disks may be knurled, roughened or provided with longitudinal ridges (not shown) in order to secure the proper degree of adherence of the tape thereto. The disks of the roll 17 are indicated at 17 and the disks of the roll 19 are indicated at 19 7 As shown in Fig. l, a gear 21 is fixed on the shaft 18 and a gear 22 is fixed on the shaft 20. The teeth of the gears 21 and 22 mesh with the teeth of a gear 23 rotatably mounted in the chamber 12 so that the gears 21 and 22 are driven with the rolls 17 and 19 in the same direction, the direction being clockwise as shown in this figure. It may also be noted that the gear 22 is smaller than the gear 21 so that the stripper roll 19 is driven at a faster speed than that of the feed roll 17. The rolls are of substantially the same diameter.

The teeth of the gear 23 mesh with those of a larger gear 24 mounted loosely upon a shaft 25 rotatably mounted in the plate members 10 and 11. The gear 23 is supported on a shaft 23* also mounted in the plate members 10, 11. The shaft 25 is provided with a oneway connection with the gear 24 so that when an operating lever 26 rigid with the shaft 25 is moved, in a clockwise direction as shown in Fig. 1, the gear 24 is rotated clockwise, but when the lever 26 is returned to its original position or moved in a counterclockwise direction no movement of the gear 24 is effected. The one-way connection between the shaft 25 and the gear 24 may be of any suitable or wellknown construction. It will be understood that the gear 24 is moved in a clockwise direction in a step-by-step movement through oscillation of the lever 26 and this movement of the gear 24 effects r0- tation of the rolls 17 and 19 in a clockwise direction to draw the tape from the supply roll. Movement of the lever 26 in a counterclockwise direction is limited by a stop 27 secured to the plate member 11 and movement of the lever in the other direction is limited by a stop 28. A spring 29 may be provided to return the lever to its rest position (shown in Fig. 1) against the stop member 27 after it has been moved downwardly against the stop 28 to dispense a length of tape.

At the front of the casing the plate members 10 and 11 define an upper recess through which the dispensed tape may pass to the user, the recess being indicated at 30. The last-mentioned recess is partially closed by a removable cover member 33. The cover member is of the form shown in Fig. 1 and at its rear end is provided with a downwardly turned flange 34 to engage rearwardly of lugs 35 on the members 10'and 11. At its forward end the cover member is provided with a downwardly extending plate portion 36 in the sideedges of which are formed member 33 at the front portion 36 thereof and extends 5 outwardly through the casing through the recess 30, the shear plate 39 being secured to the cover member 33 by suitable removable fasteners 32. As shown in Fig. 3, the shear plate 39 extends downwardly along the portion 36,

as at 40, and at the last-mentioned extremity of the por- 9 tion 36 is inclined and bent forwardly, as at 41. The foremost extremity of the shear plate 39 may be serrated, not shown, to facilitate tearing or severing of the issuing tape in strips of the desired length. The cover member 33 has plate-like arms 31 extending downwardly from the portion 36 at the respective inner faces of the plate members 10, 11.

When the tape roll is inserted in the casing the tape 16 may be grasped at its outer end and pulled out and trained over the feed roll 17. It will be understood that in order to do this the cover member 33 must first be removed. The tape 16 may be drawn out to extend through the delivery end of the dispenser. The cover member 33 may then be replaced. Then the outer end of the tape 16 which extends through the forward end 0 v of the dispenser may be torn off on the shear plate and thrown away. Due to the provision of a body 42 of tacky or adhesive material disposed at or near the severing edge of the shear plate 39 and applied to the underside of the plate 39, the tape sticks to the shear plate (see Fig. 1) or, in effect, sticks to that portion of the casing which provides or is associated with the shear plate. In this connection it may be noted that the cover member 33 is, in effect, a part of the casing and the shear plate is, in effect,

integral with the portion 36 of the member 33. Thus it may be said that the tacky body 42 is supported from the casing and extends under that portion of the casing which forms the shear plate.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 through 5 of the drawings, the tacky body 42 is of sheet form and extends over a part of the portion 40 of the shear plate, the body 42 also extending over an adjoining part of the portion 41 of the plate. The sheet forming the body 42 may be of a width approximating that of the plate 39, if desired.

It will be understood that the body 42 adheres more strongly to the shear plate 39 than to the tape 16. The body 42 may be formed conveniently from a piece of, what is known in the trade as, double-faced tape. This tape is sold by the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company under the trademark Scotch.

The tape dispenser is now ready for operation. When the operating lever 26 is moved in a direction to rotate the feed roll 17, the tape 16 is advanced to the broken-line position shown in Fig. 3. In this position the tape is in engagement with the stripper roll 19 but sticking of the tape 16 to this roll is inhibited owing to the fact that the last-mentioned roll is driven faster than the roll 17. It may also be noted here that the tape cannot pass between the rolls 17 and 19 owing to the overlapping relationship of one roll to the other. Upon further movement of the operating lever 26 in the last-mentioned direction, the advancement of the tape is continued to the full-line position of Fig. 4. In this position the end portion of the tape is doubled on itself with, the tacky surfaces thereof face to face and adhering to one another. complished through the action of the stripper roll 19 which, as it strips the tape from the feed roll 17 ,doubles the tape with the non-adhesive surfaces thereof back to back forming a loop 44, as the end of the tape is held fast by the tacky body 42. As the loop is expanded or lengthened through continued movement of the feed roll 17 it engages and sticks to the reversely turned end 45 This is acin Figs. 1 through 5.

of the tape. As the stripper roll 19 is located near the delivery recess 30 in the casing and is also spaced a distance from the tacky body 42, the loop 44, as it is lengthened, is extended out of the casing to the broken-line position of Fig. 4. When the desired length of tape has been served by the dispenser the end 45 of the tape may be pulled off the tacky body 42 by the user. This may be done by extending a finger through the loop and pulling the same forwardly or, as shown, by pressing (Fig. 5) the plies together with the fingers and pulling forwardly.

,tacky surfaces thereof being stuck together in this region.

. In the form shown in Fig. 6, the cover member 33' of the casing has a downwardly and forwardly extending plate portion 36*. The shear plate 39 similar insize and shape to the shear plate 39, is, in this instance, applied externally of the cover member, and a part of the body 42 of tacky material is sandwiched between the shear plate 39* and the portion 36 of the cover member. One or more removable fasteners 32 may be employed to secure the shear plate 39 to the cover member, thereby also securing the body 42 to the member 33. The operation of the dispenser is similar to that of the dispenser shown It may be noted here, however, that the tacky body 42 while similar in form to the above-described body 42 is of greater vertical dimension. The portion 36 of the cover member is of less vertical dimension than the corresponding portion of the cover member 33 while the plate-like arms 31 (see Fig. 6) are'longer or of greater vertical dimension. In the form of Fig. 6 the shear plate 39 and the body 42 extend downwardly between the plate-like arms to a greater extent than the shear plate 39 and the body 42. Furthermore, in the form of Fig. 6, the shear plate and tacky body may terminate at a lower point than the shear plate 39 and the body 42.

In the form shown in Fig. 7, the cover member may be the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 5. However, in the form shown in Fig. 7, the shear plate 39 is of somewhat difierent form and the body 42 of tacky material is, in this instance, of solid cylindrical form and extends transversely of the cover member. The body 42 may be formed from a small roll of the double-faced tape, referred to above. The shear plate 39 has a flat portion which is applied to the underside of, the portion 36 of the cover member and the plate 39 is secured to the cover member in the manner similar to that in which the shear plate 39 is secured to the corresponding cover member. The plate 39*, which is formed of sheet metal, is bent to form a rearwardly and somewhat downwardly opening transverse groove 48 of the cross section shown in Fig. 7 to partially receive the cylindrical body 42 just below the lower extremity'of the portion 36 of the cover member. The body 42 is located between the plate-like arms 31 in the manner shown in Fig. 7. It will be noted that the groove 48 in the plate 39 is formed intermediate the upper and lower extremities of the plate, and it will also be noted that the lower extremity of the plate 39 is inclined downwardly and forwardly and tangentially to the'body 42 which provided by doubling one end portion of the tape on itself. It will also be understood that there is provided in a tape dispenser means, in conjunction with a stripping roll and a shear plate, for effecting a doubling of one end portion of the tape as the tape issues from the dispenser. Furthermore, there is provided a tape dispenser which is of improved construction and which is simple and economical to manufacture. It will also be understood from the foregoing disclosure that, if desired, the tacky body which is associated with the shear plate may be removed from the tape dispenser by a very simple and quick operation.

While several forms of the dispenser have been illustrated in the drawings and described above, it will be apparent that the dispenser may take other forms and is susceptible of various changes and modifications in details without departure from the principles of the invention and the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a tape dispenser, means providing a casing having a part thereof defining an opening through which pressuresensitive tape, tacky only on the under surface thereof, is served to the user, tape feeding means mounted in the casing including a feed roll for contact with the tacky surface of the tape, a stripper roll for contact with said surface of the tape, mounted in the casing adjacent the feed roll and adjacent said part of the casing, the feed roll and the stripper roll being geared together and the stripper roll having a faster peripheral speed than the feed roll, said part of the casing including a shear plate above the travel of the tape, and a fixed tape-supporting tacky body applied to and supported from said part of the casing at the inner side of the shear plate, adapted to stick to the upper surface of the tape when and as the tape is pressed against the shear plate and severed so that subsequently issuing tape forms a loop which sticks to the reversely turned end of the tape, whereby, after pulling the reversely turned end free from said body, a strip may be severed having an end doubled on itself with the tacky surfaces thereof face to face.

2. In a tape dispenser, means providing a casing having a part thereof at least partially defining a tape exit through which pressure-sensitive tape, tacky only on the under surface thereof, is served to the user, said part including a downwardly extending plate portion, tape feeding means mounted in the casing including a feed roll for contact with the tacky surface of the tape, a stripper roll for contact with said surface of the tape, mounted in the casing adjacent the feed roll and adjacent said plate portion, the feed roll and the stripper roll being geared together and the stripper roll having a faster perlpheral speed than the feed roll, a shear plate secured to and suspended from said plate portion so as to extend partially over said tape exit, the shear plate having an upper part in substantially flatwise relationship to said plate portion and a lower severing part in angular relation to said upper part, a fixed tape-supporting tacky body applied to a portion of the inner surface of the shear plate so as to be at least partially supported thereby, adapted to stick to the upper surface of the tape when and as the tape is pressed against the shear plate and severed so that subsequently issuing tape forms a loop which sticks to the reversely turned end of the tape, whereby, after pulling the reversely turned end free from said body, a strip of tape may be severed having an end doubled on itself with the tacky surfaces thereof face to face.

3. A tape dispenser as defined in claim 2, wherein the tacky body is in the form of a sheet and extends throughout ad oining portions of said upper and lower parts of the shear plate, and wherein the shear plate extends inwardly of said plate portion of the casing.

4. A tape dispenser as defined in claim 2, wherein the shear plate is applied to the outer face of said plate portion of the casing, the tacky body being of sheet form and extending between the shear plate and said plate portion so as to have a part thereof sandwiched therebetween.

5. A tape dispenser as defined in claim 2, wherein the shear plate extends inwardly of said plate portion of the casing, said plate having at substantially the junction of said upper and lower parts a rearwardly facing transverse groove, and wherein said tacky body is in the form of a cylinder, the cylinder being seated in the groove and protruding therefrom in a rearward and downward direction.

6. In a tape dispenser, means providing a casing having a part thereof at least partially defining a tape exit through which pressure-sensitive tape, tacky only on the under surface thereof, is served to the user, said part including a downwardly extending plate portion, a feed roll for contact with the tacky surface of the tape and mounted in the casing, a stripper roll for contact with said surface of the tape, mounted in the casing adjacent the feed roll and adjacent said plate portion, lever-operated gear means for driving both the feed roll and the stripper roll and driving the latter at a faster peripheral speed than the feed roll a shear plate secured to and suspended from said plate portion so as to extend partial- 1y over said tape exit, the shear plate having an upper part in substantially flatwise relationship to said plate portion and a lower severing part in angular relation to said upper part, a fixed tape-supporting tacky body mounted inwardly of the shear plate, adapted to stick to the upper surface of the tape when and as the tape is pressed against the shear plate and severed so that subsequently issuing tape forms a loop which sticks to the reversely turned end of the tape, whereby, after pulling the reversely turned end free from said body, a strip of the tape may be severed having an end doubled on itself with the tacky surfaces thereof face to face.

7. In a tape dispenser, means providing a casing having a part thereof at least partially defining a tape exit through which pressure-sensitive tape, tacky only on the under surface thereof, is served to the user, said part including a downwardly extending plate portion, a feed roll for contact with the tacky surface of the tape and mounted in the casing, a stripper roll for contact with said surafce of the tape, mounted in the casing adjacent the feed roll and adjacent said plate portion, gear-operated means for driving both the feed roll and the stripper roll and driving the latter at a faster peripheral speed than the feed roll, a shear plate secured to and suspended from said plate portion so as to extend partially over said tape exit, the shear plate having an upper part in substantially flatwise relationship to said plate portion and a lower severing part in angular relation to said upper part, a fixed tape-supporting tacky body mounted inwardly of the shear plate, adapted to stick to the upper surface of the tape when and as the tape is pressed against the shear plate and severed so that subsequently issuing tape forms a loop which sticks to the reversely turned end of the tape, whereby, after pulling the reversely turned end free from said body, a strip of tape may be severed having an end doubled on itself with the tacky surfaces thereof face to face.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

